Today’s White Paper says: “We are confirming that we want to move to the ‘Invest to Save’ approach recommended by David Freud, also known as AME-DEL. This involves private and voluntary providers investing up front in getting more people back into work, and being paid out of the resulting benefit savings.”

The government pledged to forge on with its welfare reforms despite the economic crisis. The White Paper says: “Some people have argued that now is not the time to press ahead with welfare reform. We believe the opposite is true.

“The current economic climate means we must step up both the support we offer to people on benefits and the expectations of them to get themselves prepared for work. To do otherwise would be to repeat the mistakes of the past, writing people off and encouraging the long-term benefit dependency that still scars too many of our communities.”